


Timeline

by Carlisle_Mango (orphan_account)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Confusing, Dark, Dinosaurs, F/M, Future, M/M, Past, Romano Has A Velociraptor, Simultaneous Universes Theory, Time Travel, Trauma, kinda gory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 01:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18110663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Carlisle_Mango
Summary: Arthur messes up on a spell and it plunges his world into chaos. Things keep getting worse and worse as he tries to find his way back to his time.





	1. Prologue

How did he get here? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that he didn't belong here. It felt wrong. The hospital lights were too bright, Alfred's presence by his bedside seemed surreal. 

He hadn't been hit by a truck. And there'd been someone else with him. Why were they acting like he was the only one who got hurt? And why was he here? His mind screamed and he felt himself sweating. 

The spell must have gone wrong, horribly wrong. Maybe he could fix it, if he didn't feel so weak. Or maybe he'd screwed things up forever. After all, Alfred didn't have green eyes, and yet the face those eyes belonged to was staring at him right now, and the face couldn't be anyone's but Alfred's. 

He felt queasy, and he shook. Every part of his body hurt from the accident. It hasn't been a truck, though. 

His name was Arthur Kirkland. He wasn't in the right timeline.


	2. Messing It Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arthur messes time up and gets confused.

They were in Arthur's living room, he and Francis, waiting on Alfred to arrive. Arthur had been working on a certain spell for ages, and now he was finally ready to use it on a person. 

"So you can try it on anything?" Francis asked, eyes alight with excitement. He was wearing that awful sweater he'd found when Arthur had taken him thrift shopping. Arthur could almost smell the mothballs. 

"Anything," Arthur confirmed, meeting Francis's gaze. He grinned dangerously at his friend, moving his hands dramatically. 

"No, no, not yet, mon ami." Francis panicked, waving him off. "I 'aven't decided what it is I would like."

Arthur laughed. "I wasn't doing anything yet, frog." He rolled his eyes at his friend, wondering why he'd decided Francis would be the one to see. 

"Tell me again what it does," Francis pleaded, caressing his long golden locks. He flashed Arthur a sideways grin. 

"Well, I've based it on the theory that all slightly possible universes exist simultaneously. If that is true, then I should be able to pull two similar timelines together to generate a specific outcome." Arthur put on a smug face. He hadn't tested it on a person yet, but he was confident in his work. 

Francis sighed, staring at Arthur with an almost dreamy look on his face. "You are so cute when you're being scientific," he said, a slight whine in his voice. 

Arthur flushed uncomfortably. "Don't talk to me like that," he said. "I don't want you like that. We're just friends."

There was a knock at the door. It sounded more like someone was trying to break the door down. Arthur opened it up and Alfred burst inside. 

"You're finally here!" Arthur exclaimed. "Now we can get on with it. I've been waiting all day."

"Hey," Alfred said to Arthur. He was on the phone. "One more time. 266 Harlington Drive. Two pepperoni."

Francis and Arthur exchanged a glance. "What is he doing?" The Frenchman asked, tilting his head to the side a bit. 

"He's ordering pizza," Arthur sighed. Couldn't he go anywhere without needing to bring along some sort of food?

"Gotcha. If you get here a bit faster this time, I'll pay you extra." Alfred hung up and turned to Arthur. He was wearing one of those superhero T-shirts and a pair of baggy pants. 

"Alfred?" Arthur asked. He was really glad to see him, but he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, and it was 8pm.

"Arthur!" Alfred hugged him, then went to sit beside Francis, leaving Arthur quite disgruntled. "What's this thing about a spell?"

Arthur blinked once. Then he was back on track. "I've made a way to make small, possibly permanent changes to reality," he said proudly. Francis sighed again and he shot him a glare. 

"Cool!" Alfred said, texting someone. Arthur tapped his foot impatiently and Francis elbowed him.

"I'm going to demonstrate on Francis," Arthur said. Alfred put his phone down and watched as Arthur walked up behind Francis. 

"What would you like for me to do?" He asked, rolling up his sleeves.

Francis stroked his chin as he thought.  
"Give me a little 'air cut," he said finally. 

Arthur's shoulders dropped a bit, disappointed it wasn't something more chaotic. He'd really been looking to impress Alfred. Any old wanker could give a haircut. 

"And turn it blue," Francis added. He laughed a little and twisted his head to look at Arthur. "I know you can fix it if you mess it up," he joked. "Otherwise I wouldn't be 'ere."

Arthur smiled. "All right," he said. "Here goes." He grabbed his book and opened it to his page, reading the words. 

He began the incantation under his breath, moving his arms accordingly and trying to look worthy of a wizard title. He ran his fingers through Francis's hair and started the chant again, louder. Francis moaned. 

Arthur repeated the lines, again and again, adding the new words in with the existing spell. He reached the most important part of the incantation, and then it happened. 

Alfred sprung up, running to the door and taking out his wallet. "Pizza!" He said, and Arthur faltered. Then he said the wrong word. 

"What is the matter?" Francis asked, when Arthur gasped. Alfred started eating a piece of pizza. 

And then the room melted, the colour sliding away from the people and furniture, fading and dissolving everything until Arthur was alone in the dark. 

And then he wasn't in the dark anymore. He was laying in an alleyway, next to a dumpster. The concrete underneath him was hot and the smell of the dumpster was overwhelming. 

It was suddenly late afternoon. The sun was back up. Arthur stood slowly, taking in everything. As he walked out of the alley, he realised this was his street. He was standing where his house should've been, but it wasn't there. 

The sun beat down on him as he noticed more changes. It was like the surrounding town had gone down in size. He didn't see the customary skyscrapers in the distance. It was much warmer than it ever got, even in the summer. 

I've ruined time, Arthur realised. This isn't where I'm supposed to be.

Arthur noticed a few people in the distance, but he was fairly sure he didn't know them. He found a blackened stick and began to draw his circle of power on the ground. Magic got him here, magic could get him back. 

"Yo, Arthur!" 

Arthur spun around and saw Alfred. Except. . . It wasn't Alfred. This man had green eyes. Alfred did not have green eyes. Alfred's eyes were blue, like a cloudless sky, and Arthur could get lost in them—

"Alfred," Arthur said. There was a man with him that he didn't recognise. 

"Whatcha doing in this alley, huh? It's totally gross in here!" Alfred looked down at the beginnings of the circle of power.

"Who is that with you, Alfred?" Arthur asked, trying to remember what order the stripes went.

"Oh, this is my boyfriend, Toris," Alfred said, gesturing to the man. Arthur tried to not look upset. He focused on the circle. 

"Hi," Toris said timidly. Arthur ignored him. He was nice looking enough, he supposed. His hair was especially cute, but Arthur wasn't going to say anything about that. 

"So? Whatcha doing here?" Alfred asked again, kneeling beside Arthur. 

"I'm trying to go home," Arthur said, wiping one line off when he messed up. 

"Your home is that way," Alfred said, pointing down the street. "You don't have to draw a secret door."

Arthur looked and saw, to his surprise, that his house was indeed farther down the street. It had the flowerpots on the steps that he'd put there this morning. It had his initials painted on the door. 

"Let's go, then!" Arthur said, jumping up. Alfred grabbed him and looked him in the eyes before he could go anywhere. 

"You on crack or something?" The American asked, looking mildly concerned. 

"Of course not, let go of me." Arthur yanked himself away from Alfred and started across the road. 

Toris and Alfred followed, much more slowly, and Arthur paused on the crosswalk a moment too long. 

The bus came out of nowhere. It slammed into Arthur and Toris; apparently Alfred had been further behind than Arthur had thought. 

When it hit him, his vision went red. He didn't feel anything, then he felt every small pain in detail. Then his vision went black. 

Reality melted away again.


	3. The Other Versions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur finds himself in another timeline, and practically nothing is the same. 
> 
> Warning to younger readers.

Arthur woke up to an expanse of white. Bright lights shone directly on his face and tried to assassinate his retinas. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to roll over only to find that he could not. 

It was upon discovering this restraint that Arthur truly awoke. His eyes opened and darted about the room, searching for any detail that would betray his location. 

He was in a hospital room, or so it seemed. Everything hurt, and he let out a moan of pain. What was he doing here?

He remembered all the things that had happened, messing up with the spell and getting hit by the bus. Was it a dream?

Then Arthur saw Alfred, by his bedside. He had green eyes still. Arthur let out another moan and looked away immediately. That was not Alfred. It couldn't be. 

"Hey, dude, you awake?" Alfred leaned over and hovered over Arthur's face, grinning. Arthur nodded and closed his eyes, not wanting to look at Alfred. This wasn't HIS Alfred, anyway. 

"H-how's Toris?" Arthur croaked, slowly exposing his eyes to the harsh brightness again. 

Alfred's brow furrowed. "Who?" 

Arthur tried to sit up. "Your boyfriend? He was hit by the bus too."

Alfred gave a shaky laugh. "You must have gotten mixed up," he said. "You were hit by a truck, and you're the only one who was hit."

That wasn't what Arthur had wanted to hear. Which part was true? Alfred didn't lie, but then again, this wasn't his Alfred. This Alfred might be a liar. He was definitely just as shallow and annoying as his alternative. 

"No," Arthur insisted calmly. "It was a bus. From the city."

Alfred looked over at a female nurse with a clipboard. "Did you check for, like, a head problem or something? He's acting all loony."

The nurse frowned. "It's possible he may just be a little discombobulated. Most likely, he is still in shock." Her voice was thick and soothing. 

"Well then," Alfred said. He looked down at Arthur and smiled. Arthur glared at him, but guessed that Alfred was probably the reason he made it to a hospital, and he'd probably have died without one. It was certainly painful enough. 

"Luckily," the nurse continued, "He does not appear to have any internal or severe external damage."

Alfred looked slightly confused. "Which means he can go home?" 

"Soon," the nurse responded. "One more night."

000

So Arthur spent one more night on the hospital bed. Alfred stayed with him and Arthur spent the whole time fantasising about Alfred doing various things to and with him. 

Eventually the night passed. Alfred packed up a ridiculous amount of items he'd brought with him and got a wheelchair for Arthur. Then they departed. 

Arthur was very surprised to find that Alfred's house wasn't blue, like it used to be. He was even more surprised to see blackout curtains. "What are those for?" He asked Alfred as they pulled into the driveway. 

"Dude." Alfred parked the car and stared at him. "What?"

Arthur furrowed his brow. "Those curtains? What are they for?" 

"They're for the Ottomans," Alfred said. "Don't you remember anything?" 

Arthur's heart sank. This was going to be a nightmare. Different Alfred, different history, and a whole bunch of things he didn't know about. 

Also, it was apparently normal for people to disappear. Unless. . .

What if the timeline had shifted again? What if, in one version of reality, Arthur had been hit by a truck and not a bus? What if, in one version of reality, Alfred hadn't started dating Toris?  
What if, in one version of reality, the Ottoman Empire had never fallen?

He sort of didn't want to think about it. 

"They threatened the U.S. with bio weapons," Alfred was saying. "And so we sent troops over to try and find the weapons. Those men were killed and parts of America started getting hit."

"Oh," Arthur said. Alfred got out of the car and helped him into the house. Arthur processed the information he'd been given. This was quite a sad alternate reality. 

Matthew, Alfred's brother, was waiting for them inside. Arthur remembered meeting him in his time, and what had struck him the most about the man was that he had so resembled Alfred. 

But his eyes were brown now, not blue, and his hair was much darker than Alfred's. He greeted Arthur warmly and made him some tea. 

"I told you I'd be home soon. Thanks for watching the house," Alfred said, hugging his brother. Matthew grinned. 

"I live here too, you know." He gestured to the room around them. 

"I sometimes forget," Alfred said, grinning back. They showed Arthur where he could sleep, denied him kitchen access, and gave him a television remote. Then they went off to work.

000  
Arthur spent at least a week there. He was fully healed when it happened again. 

They were spending a Saturday night playing Monopoly and accusing each other of cheating. Alfred was winning, naturally. Matthew was slowly gathering all of the properties though, and Arthur was just trying to keep his money. 

Then the bell rang out. Alfred and Matthew sprang up, closing the curtains and turning the lights off. Arthur did what he could to help. They went to hide under the kitchen table, forced their shoes on their feet and curled close together, hardly breathing. 

Alfred sat straight up; Arthur and Matthew sat on either side of them. Arthur couldn't see him, but from the whimpering and gasping sounds Matthew was making, he assumed he was having a panic attack. Arthur himself was very frightened. 

Then something crashed through the roof. It landed in another part of the house, and then exploded. Arthur expected fire, but instead the air began tasting funny. 

"Pull your shirt over your nose and mouth," Alfred said. Matthew and Arthur did as they were told. 

Then another thing fell through the roof, and smashed right through the table, crushing Matthew. He let out a muffled scream and it exploded. 

Bits of flesh and blood and metal flew away from the spot and Alfred screamed. Arthur began to have his own panic attack. The air tasted twice as bad now. Everything seemed to be wobbling a little. 

There was no doubt about the fact that Matthew was dead. There was hardly anything left of him, and both Arthur and Alfred were too disoriented to care about that. They just knew he was gone. 

They spent the rest of the time wrapped in one another's arms, crying, until the air became too thick with gas for them to breathe properly, all of the oxygen gone, and they drifted off to sleep as the house erupted in a fiery explosion. 

Then reality melted again, and Arthur found himself trapped in the dark.


	4. More Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another timeline begins and ends.

He could hear that one video HIS Alfred had shown him once in his mind as the light came back. 

"Make me a yo-yo man," someone said. It was completely ridiculous and so uncalled for that he almost laughed. It made him think of his own timeline.  

Then Arthur could see. He was trapped waist-deep in concrete rubble. Something was jabbing into his side and it hurt when he breathed. 

It was high noon, and there were huge piles of cement rubbish as far as he could see. The air was distinctly damp, but it was so hot and Arthur hated the smell of the air. 

At least he COULD breathe. Where was Alfred? Alfred's house hadn't been made of this much concrete, he didn't think. At least the gas was gone. 

Matthew was gone too. 

Arthur hadn't known him for that long, in either timeline, but Matthew had been good to him and he started to cry again. 

Until he heard something coming towards him. Then Arthur froze and quieted himself. Why were the clouds so dark? He was terrified, but his arms were free, and that meant he could use magic. 

"You zhere!" someone called to him. Arthur looked up and saw four people dressed in odd rags coming towards him. The speaker was a young man who was wrapped from head to toe, wearing sunglasses. There wasn't an inch of bare skin that Arthur could see. 

"Who are you vith?" The man called again. He had a weird accent that Arthur couldn't place. 

"I'm alone!" Arthur yelled back. He decided that these people were going to kill him. Until they got closer. There was Alfred! His blonde, blue eyed Alfred. He didn't have his glasses though. Arthur also spotted Toris, who was clinging to a tall man who was wrapped almost as much as the apparent leader. 

"Alone?" The leader asked. He leaned down to look Arthur in the face. Arthur saw his own filthy reflection in the lenses of the sunglasses. "Are you sure?"

Arthur waved his hands, muttered a curse, and watched as the man was flung backwards. The other three stared at him uncomfortably as their leader shouted in pain. 

"Alfred?" Arthur looked into those familiar blue eyes, searching for a sign of recognition. His face fell when he saw naught but a slightly aggressive glare directed at him. 

"How do you know my name?" Alfred asked, clearly upset. He pulled a dagger from the folds of his odd clothes and held it at Arthur's throat. 

"I know your brother, Matthew," Arthur said, hoping Matthew existed in this timeline. It was kind of a long shot, maybe Matthew and Alfred were always together or something. They'd know he was lying.   
The tall guy gasped and Toris crossed himself, still clinging to the tall man's arm.   
Alfred looked downright furious, ready to plunge the knife into Arthur's neck. 

"Vait!" The leader was back on his feet. His sunglasses were cracked and he was a bit bloodier than he'd been to begin with, but Arthur could tell he was quite a strong fellow. Alfred kept the knife at Arthur's throat and discarded the outraged expression. "He mentioned Matthew," the American said.

The leader ignored Alfred and turned to Arthur. "You survived the rain," he remarked, studying the rubble trapping Arthur. 

"I woke up here," Arthur corrected. "I'm lost."

The leader pulled off his sunglasses and squinted in the overbearing light, revealing two eyes as red as blood. "No, you're exactly vhere you need to be," he said smoothly. "Ivan, get him out."

The tall guy and Alfred worked together to free Arthur from the restraining rubble. Once he was on his feet, Arthur contemplated running away, but these men were armed and obviously dangerous. 

"Follow us," the leader said. He took Arthur's hand and led him down a hill of rubble and through a valley of broken homes. It was saddening. He nearly choked when he saw his door, mostly shattered and dirty. Only the "K" for Kirkland was left. 

This was another timeline, for sure. But it wasn't as bad as the last one. 

"So," the leader said, giving Arthur a look and then putting his sunglasses back on. "Telekinesis?"

"What?" Arthur stared at him, then remembered his display of power back at the remains of Alfred's house. "No. I'm just skilled with magic."

The leader shook his head. "I'm sure zhat's ALL it iz." He looked at his hands and cackled. "I'm a practiced pyromaniac."

Arthur blinked, confused. "What do you mean?" 

"That's Ivan," the leader said, pointing to the tall guy who was towing Toris. "He's pretty strong and heals fast, but he gets knocked out a lot."

Arthur nodded, wondering where this was going. He had been wondering who the tall man was, anyway, but wasn't quite sure what to make with that information.

"That's Alfred," the leader mused. "He's fast. Really fast. He gets mad VERY quickly. That's Toris. He can disappear and move with no sound."

Arthur bit his lip as the leader talked about Alfred. Why didn't the American recognise him? Had he screwed up this timeline that badly?

Then, as he though about what the leader had just said, something clicked. It was like those stupid movies Alfred watched. People with superpowers. He nearly screamed. This was an actual version of reality?

"I'm Gilbert," the leader said. "I can do stuff vith fire."

"Nice to meet you, Gilbert," Arthur said. "I'm Arthur. I'm magic." He coughed uncomfortably at that part, feeling guilty for some reason. Could he have saved Matthew with magic?

"Cool!" Gilbert said, and Arthur could practically hear the smile in his voice. He squeezed Arthur's hand, and Arthur turned his attention to the man's sunglasses, puzzled. 

000

They walked for at least an hour over the messy terrain. Everywhere Arthur looked, he saw signs of severe destruction. There were no trees, there was no grass, and there were no animals. It made him quite sad to figure out that these people he was with were probably the only living things here. 

Arthur was walking beside Gilbert, hand-in-hand. Arthur had met Gilbert in his own time, but didn't know him well enough to know how he should treat him. It was quite confusing for him, but at least he was being friendly, unlike Alfred, who still seemed to be upset about his mentioning of Matthew.

A thought hit him as Gilbert walked him over a large piece of broken concrete. Was Matthew dead in this timeline, too? Alfred was probably just grieving. That was probably it. Arthur was still upset that Alfred  didn't seem to know him, but perhaps that was a problem for later.

It would certainly have to wait, anyway. 

Arthur didn't see anything he could draw a circle of power with, and the sun was too bright for concentration. He probably wouldn't be able to get back from wherever he was now, and honestly, he was too thirsty for any magic now.

They were nearing a gaping hole in a pile of rubble when Ivan spun around and threw a stone at something behind them. They heard a shriek and the rest of the group turned to see. It was another group of people, except their weapons were out and they looked angrier. 

Gilbert dropped Arthur's hand and suddenly brandished two knives. "Antonio!" He shouted, glaring at the apparent leader of the other group. Arthur knew Antonio from his time; he was Francis's friend. This version of him was quite scary, however, and he looked as if he would easily kill them all right then.

His heart sank when he saw the people in the other group. Francis, Feliks, Matthew, and some blonde haired girl, plus Antonio.    
Antonio didn't respond. Instead, he lunged for Gilbert, wielding his own blade. The other members of Antonio's party threw themselves at Gilbert's group. Arthur found himself tackled onto the rocks by Francis, who seemed intent on strangling him.

 He noticed Alfred run at unrealistic speed to meet Matthew, who ran with the same unrealistic speed,  and the two immediately tried to kill each other.  
Arthur couldn't pay much attention to the others now, though. 

He ignored his hunger and thirst and gathered his strength, putting it all into a death spell that would hopefully kill Francis. The man was obviously not his friend in this timeline.

It didn't kill Francis, but it paralysed him, and Arthur stood back up, feeling drained but oddly energised. He spotted Toris and Ivan sparring with the blonde girl and Feliks. They were doing well until the girl stabbed Toris in the stomach. Toris fell and both Ivan and Feliks screamed.

Arthur ran to help Ivan with the girl, who was still trying to kill him. He pulled together his strength reserves and prepared to do the same spell to her as he'd done to Francis. It was seemingly effective, as Francis wasn't awake yet. 

He never got his chance. Feliks and Ivan seemed to now be working together, and as Arthur ran towards them, he saw them chase the girl off. As soon as she was gone they knelt by Toris, who was bleeding rapidly. 

Arthur prepared to do a healing spell instead, walking to the three of them. He waved his hands over Toris's stomach wound and muttered a short incantation, watching as the wound closed itself up. Ivan stared at him in wonder and Arthur felt maybe a bit proud of himself.

Feliks hugged Toris immediately and Ivan and Arthur turned to see where everyone else was. Alfred and Matthew had ceased fighting, panting in the heat and slowly removing less useful parts of their wrappings. 

Gilbert was in a much worse condition. Antonio had him disarmed and in the ground, and he'd stolen Gilbert's sunglasses. The man was apparently blinded at the moment, but before Antonio could do anything to him, Ivan threw a block of concrete with re-bar sticking out the side at him. 

Antonio crumpled; the block had hit him exactly on the head. Arthur didn't figure he'd get up any time soon. Ivan helped Gilbert to his feet and Arthur found his sunglasses for him.

Then the sky started to rumble. Dark clouds with a strange quality to them were building up rapidly, and Arthur heard a weird fizzing sound.

"Inside!" Feliks screamed, running with Toris to the opening ahead. Gilbert shook twice and then sprinted after him.

Arthur was intrigued. "What is it?" He asked Ivan, who was dragging Francis behind him. 

"Acid rain," Ivan said, looking out into the distance. He looked wistful and sad. Then he threw Francis over his shoulder and ran. Arthur tried to follow, he was the only conscious person left outside. But he was weak from the magic and the rain would probably kill Antonio, so he kept with the body and tried to make a shield. 

He heard Gilbert calling for him, he heard Ivan sob. 

For a few glorious minutes, the shield held against the acid rain. Arthur kept his arms stretched upwards and muttered over and over. When would the storm end? But the shield cracked down and the rain hit his flesh, burning painfully. It was coming down in torrents now, and he lost the ability to function, curling slowly to the ground beside Antonio, who'd never wake up again.

Then the world melted once more.


End file.
